Lost and Found
by Lily of the Shadow
Summary: (Formerly titled 'Babysitter') Avalon was driving her little cousin home when the road seemed to change. The school was gone. The trees were older. They find themselves in the middle of a forest with no way out, when they're rescued by some passersby who don't speak English. Can Avalon and Meredith get home when they can't even communicate with their rescuers?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not own any of the characters or locations used in this story. My lack of ownership notwithstanding, this is my story:

* * *

"No, Merrie, get in the back seat, dear," Avalon demanded as kindly as she could. Merrie cheerfully stepped on her arm as she scrambled between the front seats to settle in back. Avalon grimaced as she rubbed her arm discreetly. "Ready to go?"

"Ready, Avalon!" Meredith chirped. Avalon looked back to check as the little girl buckled her in.

She bit her lip, wondering if she shouldn't run inside and get a phone book to serve as a booster seat, but she concluded that it might possibly be more dangerous to do so. She threw the car into reverse and made a T-turn so she could drive forward down the long driveway.

Avalon adjusted her mirror so that she could see her the stick-straight blond hair on top of her cousin's head. She made sure her side mirrors made up for the lack of rear view, and pulled straight onto the highway.

It was bright out. Avalon squinted her eyes and wished, not for the first time, that she had prescription sunglasses for the summers. Hell, she thought, she would even settle for clip-ons for her frames. It wasn't the time to stroll down that avenue of thought, though, since she not only had a cousin to drop off at home, she had two brothers whom she was late to pick up from school.

She sped down the highway, sticking to about 6 miles over the speed limit, constantly checking on the unusually quiet girl in the back seat. Between checks, she scanned the open farmland and blocks of trees on either side of the road. After a minute, she hit a pothole.

"Damn," she swore under her breath. The '92 Mercury sedan wasn't in the best shape, it couldn't really take too much rough handling. "Michigan roads..." she grumbled, knowing that the highway was brand new two years ago. She glanced back to make sure the five year old's ears remained virgin, and was surprised to find her drifting off to sleep already. She hit another pothole and grimaced. The car rattled on.

She stole another glanced at Meredith, then looked back at the road. This part of the highway fell steeply away to a hollow on one side, though with a wide shoulder and sturdy double guardrail. Avalon frowned. Were the trees always this close to the road on that side? She hit a short series of potholes, sighing and putting on a little more speed. She noticed that the road was looking especially ragged and cracked. Had something happened?

The trees inched closer to the edge of the highway, so gradually that Avalon was sure she wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't kept taking her eyes off the road. The car started rattling horribly, and she jerked the wheel to the side a little before she realized that she hadn't, in fact, hit the rumble strips, but rather the section of road was almost as broken up as Poor Farm Lane, which could barely be recognized as paved. She looked to pull over to the shoulder when she realized it wasn't there.

The white line at the side of the road was worn almost to oblivion, and the shoulder was near non-existent. Avalon felt a slow-burning panic in the pit of her stomach beginning to form. Ahead was the "school crossing" sign—here, barely visible through rust and grime. She slowed down to take the corner and gasped audibly, slamming on the breaks.

"Avvie! I'm sleepin'!" Meredith scolded sleepily from the back seat.

"Sorry, Merrie," Avalon said soothingly. She slowly put the gas back on, turning hesitantly into the empty parking lot in front of a log bunkhouse that almost, but didn't exactly, resembled the school. She unlatched the door and stepped out, looking over the top of the roof of the car at the derelict building. It was obviously unoccupied. Her thin leather jazz shoes easily felt the thick mat of soft, dead pine needles that covered the lot that couldn't possibly have ever been paved. She took off running across the lawn back to the road, then out to the highway. She stared both ways down it. There was nothing more than a wide dirt path, with tall trees grown over, making it dark like a tunnel despite the early afternoon sun.

She took a few deep breaths.

She wanted to scream, but her throat wouldn't work.

She took another breath, then turned on the ball of her feet and broke into a run to make sure Meredith was still there, the thought having stuck her that, if the road had vanished, maybe she did, too.

She saw the red sedan in the lot, still rumbling, although Meredith's slightly-less-sleepy face was pressed against the window, looking scared.

"Avalon!" she cried, pushing open the door and almost falling out. She ran towards Avalon, who had only slight difficulty lifting her onto her hip to hold tight. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure, Meredith," Avalon whispered, biting her lip as she looked around. She cradled Meredith's head with her hand, keeping her face buried in the crook of her neck, shielding the younger girl from seeing the unfamiliar setting as best she could. She slipped into the car and looked at the radio. She bit her lip again; she hadn't ever exercised her Technician's license. Still, she knew how to work the two-meter hand held. She picked it out of the cup holder. She turned it on and listened to a few minutes of dead air. Finally...

"Is this band monitored? K8RUR," she said. Meredith squirmed in her lap. "Shush, Merrie, I'm trying to get help," she said. She didn't want to panic and cry "break, break, break!" when she didn't even know what the problem was. "I was lost?" would lose her her license, probably. There was nothing but static. "CQ CQ CQ K8RUR." Nothing. "CQ CQ CQ K8RUR."

After calling a third time, she switched to another local repeater and tried again. She took a few deep breaths. Her dad was ALWAYS monitoring at least one of the repeaters, just in case. It had to be the third one.

"Is this band monitored? K8RUR."

No response. She took a few deep breaths. "CQ CQ CQ K8RUR. I'm a bit lost, if anyone is listening, I'd appreciate some local help."

She went back and repeated the modified plea on the other local repeater bands, then tried a few more open frequencies. She was really getting nervous. This was a big Ham community, surely there was _someone_?

Twenty minutes ago, a tiny flame of panic started to burn slowly in her gut. Each silent band was like a puff of pure oxygen, fueling it and making it grow into a burning vise, clenching her heart and stopping her breath. She now forced a calm face for Meredith's sake, but inside she was desperately wondering what the hell had happened, and if she couldn't fix it somehow. Her brothers would kill her for being late to pick them up, and Meredith's parents would worry. She bit her lip and killed the car engine. She rooted through her purse with one hand, looking for her cell phone. She flipped it open, only to find no signal. She tried to send a text anyway, knowing that they often got through.

"Unable to send message. No signal," she read incredulously under her breath. She ran through an exhaustive list of curse words in her head.

"Meredith, sit down here," she said, directing the girl to the passenger seat. Avalon emptied her purse into the front seat. She took her camera and stepped back from the car, taking a few pictures from all around to document the area. She sat back on the edge of the seat and began gathering things into her nearly bottomless denim purse: her wallet, her notepad, three pens in different colors, an unopened granola bar, an unopened Snickers bar, her brother's magnesium lighter and a knife that she had confiscated before his soccer game the night before, and the extra 2GB memory card from her MP3 player—it wasn't used as music storage, so she'd use it for pictures if she had to document anything else—and she would, nobody would believe that she drove into a non-existent forest. Meredith's Dora the Explorer backpack contained a baggie of apple slices and the sandwich she brought home uneaten from lunch. She located two half-drank bottles of water in the car. She wasn't sure how long they had been there, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She wasn't worried about chemicals leeching into the water at that moment.

"Merrie, we're a bit lost. I'm going to need you to be a big girl and wait patiently, okay?" Avalon said gently. Merideth pouted, but agreed.

"Will you play a game with me?" she asked. Avalon sighed, then opened the glove box. Inside was an old Gameboy. She handed it to Meredith.

"Here, play this game. I need to look in the trunk," she said, popping the boot open with the press of a button. Once she was sure Meredith was occupied, she went around back to look for the emergency kit. Since they lived in Michigan, an emergency kit was essential in the winter months. She found it, and gave a huge sigh of relief as she opened the small yellow duffel bag. She almost laughed out loud. She was safe for a while with this, it contained all the essentials: High-calorie food bars, five ½ gallon bags of water, five emergency bags, with reflective insides for warmth, five airplane-style blankets, five inflatable pillows, a flashlight, a first-aid kit, swiss-army-knife, a roll of duct tape, and a length of lightweight nylon rope, among other things.

Avalon was prepared to scream with delight as she hauled the bag into the body of the car. It was getting dark, and it was kind of chilly in the deep shade of the trees. She tucked one of the airplane blankets around Merideth's shoulders and broke one of the food bars in thirds. Meredith only needed a third of one; they were meant to expand in the stomach to promote the feeling of fullness. Meredeth ate it without question, and returned to her game.

While she was still distracted, Avalon opened the back of the trunk into the car, giving both her and Meredith room to lay down. She spread the emergency bags out like sleeping bags and put chemical heating packet in each. She was personally fascinated by the packs; they were a gel, until you snapped a metal disk in it. Then, they warmed and solidified. Later, if you put them in the refrigerator, they cooled down and became gel again, ready to be re-used. Last year, when they had gone off the road, they had used these same packs to keep warm until someone drove by who could help them, six hours later. The packs would warm the bags so that she and Meridith would be imstantly warm if bad came to worse.

By the time she had everything arranged, and had taken stock of what they had several times over, it was dark around them. Avalon left the car running, so they could have light, but it would only last so long. Avalon had to fight the urge to go out looking for someone, something. But her brother was a boy scout, and if she had learned anything, it was that you stay put when you're lost. They had enough food and water to last them for a few days at least. Any helicopter search should find them, with the lights on in the car...

Avalon gaxed into the falling darkness around the car. Meredith was falling asleep from boredom, and Avalon wasn't inclined to keep her up. She let her rest her head on her arm. Avalon thought about the trees.

The trees were so strange. Where did they come from? How had she taken a wrong turn? It was a straight highway. She wondered if she was going crazy.

Outside, the forest was silent. No birds, squirrels, crickets... It was like it was dead. Avalon was unnerved by the complete stillness. She started hallucinating movements in the trees, rustles where there were none. She rolled up the window, but the steady sound of Meredith's breath did nothing to drown out her imagined horrors. Ghostly pale spots danced before her eyes, floaters in her field of vision, simply from the lack of visual stimulus. She was torn between closing her eyes, and keeping them peeled. One of her biggest fears was faces appearing in windows at night.

Fear kept them still. Fear kept them open. Spots kept hovering around. Sensory deprivation could cause hallucinations, she reminded herself. Avalon didn't think this really counted as 'sensory deprivation,' but it was so pitch black beyond the tiny pool of light in the car that it seemed like the world ended. She watched the spots dance in front of her eyes.

One spot didn't dance. Actually, two were still. Avalon focused on these. Faces congealed from the blank, pale light, looking straight at her from deep in the treeline.

Avalon screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

Same song, second verse. A little bit shorter and a little bit worse. No, really. I wasn't sure how to fit in all the points I wanted to hit, so I wound up writing half of it from two perspectives. Constructive criticism is welcome; please don't just say "It doesn't work" and not tell me why. _Specific_ thoughts on character development are welcome, too. I might add here that there will be NO canon/OC romances in this particular story. No romance at all, really.

* * *

"It is no desperate prison," Elladan whispered, peering through the trees at the strange metal hill in the clearing before the old barracks. "Half of it seems to be mere glass."

"The woman trapped inside is clearly distressed. She obviously cannot escape, or she would. She would otherwise shelter in the barracks, wouldn't she?" Elrohir responded logically. Elladan didn't know how to respond as they circled the anomaly from deep behind the treeline. They crept closer, wrinkling their noses at the noxious fumes they encountered.

"It's poisoning her!" Elrohir pointed out. "We have to do something."

Elladan slipped forward through the trees, until he had a very clear view of the woman's face. She seemed intent on showing a brave face. The warriors understood—they noticed the child with her. She had to be brave for her daughter's sake. Trapped in such a beast, they commended her stout heart. Suddenly, the woman seemed to notice them. Her eyes focused and met theirs, and a look of horror crossed her face. She screamed.

The girl beside her woke and started crying, and they clutched at each other, the little one burying her face in her mother's chest, the elder burying her face in the girl's hair. Reacting to the sudden danger, Elrohir launched forward at the glass and steel prison. The front was wide and made of glass, and he felt it couldn't possibly be secure. He slammed the butt of his knife into it. Their wounds could later be healed, if the glass happened to cut them, he figured.

There was a loud crack, and the glass went white. The screams increased in volume, shattering Elrohir's sensitive eardrums. Elladan came now to his brother's rescue, slamming once more into the strange force field that held the humans inside. It punctured and peeled away like the strangest fabric he had ever seen. Between the two elves, they plucked the woman and her child from imprisonment and carried them swiftly to the trees. The girls fought the whole way, screaming.

"Shush! We've come to rescue you, we won't hurt you! My lady, please calm down!"

The woman screamed some more, struggling to escape. Elladan, instead of subduing her as easily as he could have, let her go as gently as possible. Nevertheless, in her haste to escape, the lady's foot caught on some upturned root. Elrohir, meanwhile, carefully captured the struggling child in his arms, easily wrapping his arms around her flailing limbs, whispering a lullaby into her ear to calm her down.

The woman on the ground tried to get up, but fell once more with a gasp and a whimper. She rolled over and scrambled backwards, demanding something all the while. The elven twins looked at one another.

"What language is that?" Elrohir asked, frowning. Elladan shook his head.

"Do you speak the common language?" he asked gently, holding up his open palms as a gesture of peace. The woman replied in her strange tongue. Noting the woman's fair hair, Elrohir racked his mind for the little Rohirric he knew. "Do you speak Rohirric?" he asked. He tried a dialect from Gondor that he was only slightly more familiar with. No response to either. Finally, the woman spoke. The accent was different from the first time. She was trying another language.

"I do not understand," Elladan apologized. The woman seemed to try several more languages, all in distinct accents. Whoever she was, she appeared well-learned, though she seemed to become frustrated.

"You're ugly, and your mother dresses you funny!" she finally exclaimed, using oddly accented Sindarian. Elladan and Elrohir exchanged looks of pure shock. The woman seemed surprised by their reaction. "Sindarian?" she asked. She said something more in her language, then started laughing. She laughed hysterically for almost a full minute before her giggles turned into sobs.

Confused and frankly unnerved by the turn of events, the twins looked from the girl, back to the trees that hid the metal prison, and finally to the entranced and dazed child in Elrohir's arms. Something was very wrong.

–

The face came closer, born by a long body, wielding a knife. Avalon didn't see that, though, having hidden her face the moment she saw the eyes in the woods. She screamed unabashedly, sorry for having woken Meredith, but fearing for her life. No flashlight beams had heralded the person's arrival, so she figured they couldn't possibly be a search party. Her imaginings of the woods had unnerved her too much, and phantoms and demons seemed to close in on her. The windshield shattered under a crushing blow from something. What part of her mind that controlled her overactive imagination supplied massive war hammers in the hands of demons; the rest of her brain was still screaming. Another, horrifying crunch later, she felt herself hauled out of the car by strong arms. Another pair took Meredith. She kicked and screamed and pleaded for their lives.

"Let me go! Let us go! What the hell do you think you're doing! Someone! Anyone! Rape! Help!"

Meredith, in the other man's arms, was letting out one long, uninterrupted wail that seemed far too big for her 6-year-old lungs. When Avalon's captor finally did let go, Avalon stumbled away as quickly as she could, trying to get back to the car, to the radio—maybe someone was on the repeater now! Her foot caught on a root and pain shot through her ankle. She gasped and bit back another scream. Even so, she noticed Meredith's screams falling to a piteous wail, and then to silence, over which she could hear soft singing. She scrambled around to face the men, even as she crab-walked backwards.

"Let Meredith go!" she demanded. "Who are you?"

The man who had held her said something in a foreign language. He exchanged a look with his nearly-identical partner. He seemed to ask her something, holding his hands up in the international sign of peace.

"I don't know what you're saying, speak English!" she said, only slightly calmed by the open and unarmed palms. He said something else. Then, he seemed to try another language. Avalon frowned.

"Nihongo hanaseru?" she asked in Japanese, the only other language that she knew more than two sentences in. At his blank look, she continued: "Parles-vous francois? Hablas Espanol? nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e'?" She threw out the few words she knew of French, Spanish, and Klingon. She growled in frustration, threw up her hands, and blurted out, "Llie n'vanima ar lle atara lanneina!"

The men's faces turned from concern to shock. Avalon could have killed herself then and there.

"Sindarian? Really? You're fucking with me, now," she said. At their bemused expressions, she started laughing. Hysteria overtook her, and her laughter turned quickly to sobs that hurt her whole body on their way out. Part of her feared what trance they had put Meredith in, but part of her was relieved that she wasn't sobbing, adding another dimension to this fantastic, awful turn of events. Black creeped up the sides of her vision.

"Oh god, not now," she whispered, fighting to keep her senses open, even as the blackness closed over her vision. She felt hands on her shoulders, and heard voices. She took deep breaths as she felt herself being set gently on the ground. The men must have some medical experience, she figured. She always passed out after donating blood, so she knew the routine as well as anyone. She felt something cool on her throat and forehead. Her vision began to come back, though it may as well not have, for how dark it was. The only indication was a pale, pretty face hovering above her with a concerned look. This was when they gave her a bag to breathe into. She waited for the bag, continuing to take as deep of breaths as she could muster.

She wouldn't be able to run. Not without passing out again. She resigned herself to her capture, sending up a prayer that they were as peaceful as the man tried to gesture.

The man asked her some things. She recognized one or two terms. 'Vasa' was food, she knew that much. He was probably asking what she last ate, and when. Standard question.

"Breakfast, I guess," she mumbled, knowing they wouldn't understand. She needed to say something, though, so that they knew she was conscious. "And some of that calorie bar..."

They continued to chatter above her, giving her a headache. Finally, one of them knelt beside her with a cup of water, lifting her head slowly and putting the cup to her lips. Avalon sipped it carefully.

–

Elladan and Elrohir watched in horror as the girl slumped over, letting herself to the ground as carefully as she could before she lost control. She would have fallen most of the way if Elladan hadn't the reflexes of his race. He braced her shoulders and lowered her to the ground. Elrohir immediately lay the child on the pine needles, confident that she wouldn't stir, and came to aid his brother. He carefully ripped an outside pocket off of her pants and soaked with with some of the cool water from his water skin, daubing it to her neck and forehead.

"Have you eaten today, milady?" the first twin asked in carefully enunciated Sindarian. Perhaps she knew enough to understand. He had seen humans pass out before, they were always disoriented. She mumbled something, but not in a language she knew. "How long have you been trapped in that prison?" he asked again. She didn't respond, so he tried again. "What is your name? Where is your traveling party? From whence to you hail? Are you Rohirric?"

Meanwhile, Elrohir located their packs, and found a tin cup in their supplies. He filled it with water and handed it to Elladan. The woman drank from it tentatively.

"She will be unable to walk for a while," Elladan said. Elrohir sighed.

"I shall go ahead, and send back a party from the palace. They will be able to take her to the houses of healing within Thranduil's halls," he said, taking off without waiting for a response.

Elladan looked down at the strange woman, in strange clothes. She seemed to be dazed, but okay. He turned to the younger girl laying in the pine needles. Why would such a young mother be traveling with a child so close to Winter? And where was the rest of their party? He moved to check on the little girl, singing softly as she had begun to stir.

* * *

In case you're curious, the Klingon translates as: "Where's the bathroom?" Thanks, Dad.


	3. Chapter 3

Yeah, huge wait, my bad. I won't bore you with excuses.

* * *

As soon as she saw the man leave her side to see Meredith, Avalon tried to get up, rush after him, keep him away from her cousin. The sudden movement made her pass out again, and this time she had neither the energy nor the will to fight it. She gave in to the blackness, and remained there.

She opened her eyes slowly. She distinctly remembered pine needles. She passed out in a forest, with two men. And...

"Meredith!" she cried, sitting bolt upright. She regretted it instantly, as blackness again threatened the edges of her vision. Threatened, but did not take, for which she was grateful. She looked around wildly, calming once she caught sight of a messy tangle of fine blonde hair, sleeping on the other side of the enormous feather tic bed. Avalon threw back the covers to inspect her young charge. Meredith was laying peacefully asleep, drooling on her pillow. Someone had changed her. She now wore a forest-green sleeping gown.

Avalon looked at herself, clad in a similarly shapeless shift, only hers was the pale, earthy brown of unbleached muslin. She looked around the room. A young woman sat in the corner, pretending to be engaged in her sewing. The woman looked up when Avalon's gaze fell upon her.

She said something. Avalon frowned. The woman smiled and stood up. She set down her sewing and held her palms open, saying something in a soothing tone.

"Where are we?" Avalon asked, looking around. There were no windows, but the room was brightly lit with wall sconces. It was clear her question was not understood, so she gestured to the room and asked again. "This place. Where are we?" she said. The woman sat on the end of the bed and said something else. Avalon was getting frustrated. In Japan, she at least knew some words. She could say "where" in Japanese, and be sort of understood. Here, she didn't have that luxury. The language was nothing she had ever heard before.

Her mind tugged her back to the night before. Had the men responded to... Elvish? She groaned. Nutters. She had no idea where she was, kidnapped by complete nutters in a forest that she wasn't sure where it came from.

The road had bothered her. It just changed. A straight-shot highway took her where she wasn't meaning to go. She didn't want to think about it.

"Please, seriously, you have to understand English," Avalon begged. "I don't know a word of elvish! Well, outside of insults. But I don't think you want to be told to kiss orcs," she muttered the last part.

The woman said something, a single word. Avalon looked up. She hand her hand to her chest. She repeated the word, then she held her hand out to indicate Avalon. Avalon frowned. She repeated the gesture.

"Aragarwen."

'My name!' Avalon thought. So she said it.

"Avalon," she put her hand to her chest. Then she lightly lay her hand on Meredith's sleeping shoulder and said, "Meredith."

"Avalon, Meredith." The woman smiled. Avalon smiled back nervously, deciding to try the other Elvish she knew.

"Elin sil luma amontialldo," she said nervously. The woman looked at her strangely before bursting into high, pretty laughter. Avalon blushed. "Did I say something wrong?" she muttered.

"Elen sila lumenn omontilmo," the woman said, still grinning, bowing slightly from her seating position on the bed. Avalon's blush deepened.

"Oh. Sorry," she muttered, wanting nothing more than to hide her face. Of course she could pronounce 'You're ugly and your mother dresses you funny' perfectly, but not a high elven greeting? It was mortifying. She wanted to feign a blackout to get away from the woman's continued chuckles. It'd almost be better if her laugh was obnoxious, but it wasn't. It was pretty and delicate and gentle. Almost inhuman, she thought, but rationality pushed that thought away.

The woman noted Avalon's embarrassment and said something gently, reaching forward to lay a hand on hers. Avalon smiled despite herself. The woman stood up and addressed her by name, then asked something. Listening carefully, Avalon recognized the word 'vasa', and she was pretty sure that, among the few elvish terms she had learned with her friends, 'vasa' meant food. She nodded hesitantly. Aragarwen nodded and stepped towards the door. She said something, seeming to reassure the young woman. Avalon nodded. Aragarwen slipped out of the room.

Avalon sighed, turning back to Meredith. She lay down, curled up protectively around her tiny cousin. Meredith stirred slightly, but settled back into a deep sleep. Avalon quickly followed suit, sore, but emotionally exhausted more than physically.

–

Aragarwen strode through the halls briskly, focused on the kitchens. She was going to bring a few things to the strange human girls in the healing ward. Avalon and Meredith, she recalled. Strange names, she thought, but she was unfamiliar with human naming custom.

Lord Elladan had informed her that the girls spoke no common language, which worried Aragarwen. She didn't know how to care for someone with whom she couldn't communicate. At least she had names now. That much the Lords Elladan and Elrohir hadn't been able to get.

Speaking of... Aragarwen slowed to a stroll as she approached Elladan, coming the opposite way.

"Lord Elladan," she addressed him, bowing.

"Milady," Elladan gave a short bow. "How are our guests faring?"

"As well as any," Aragarwen replied. "The lady woke for a moment, and I was able to ask her name. She is Avalon, and her daughter is Meredith," she provided. Elladan smiled.

"Thank you, Healer. I will be by shortly, I need to see Beriaden. Thranduil's left this morning to Esgaroth. There's news of a dragon, I need to see what the fuss is. I will be along after that," he said. Aragarwen gasped.

"Dragon?" she asked. Elladan nodded. Aragarwen quickly recomposed herself. "Well, I'm taking a platter to the ladies in the healing ward," she said quickly.

"Nothing heavy; fruit and bread should suffice," Elladan advised. Aragarwen nodded.

"Precisely my thoughts," she said with a smile, dropping into a brief curtsy before she headed onward to the kitchens.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, this chapter seemed to come fairly easily on the tail of the one before it. Maybe I'm getting my fanfic mojo back?

To answer a comment made regarding the love-lives of various characters; I hadn't actually planned any romances in this story. If there's a popular demand for it, I might include something, but the aim of this story was originally going to lean more towards fostering cross-cultural understanding despite hindrances in communication. (Look at me, all academic and lofty and utterly full of bull.) I say originally, because last night while I was laying in bed, the thought came to me to twist it into something of a psychological thriller. Thoughts? Would that seriously turn anyone off? Would anyone particularly like it?

That being said-you're the ones reading it, and if most of you would enjoy some more romance up in this shiznit, ask and ye shall receive. That's what the review function is for ;)

* * *

By the time Aragarwen returned to the healing ward, the girl, Avalon, was already asleep again, this time curled protectively around her daughter. Aragarwen smiled and settled back into the chair she occupied before, resuming the embroidery she had been working on. It was several hours before either of the humans stirred, and this time it was Meredith who woke. Aragarwen looked up and smiled gently, coming slowly to kneel beside the bed at eye-level with the frightened girl.

"Good afternoon," she said gently. The girl's face scrunched up, and she turned to Avalon, shaking her shoulder and barely keeping from howling in terror. Avalon woke up quickly, blinked in disorientation for a moment, then upon seeing Aragarwen, immediately gathered her daughter in her arms and began rocking her and speaking softly. The girl began sobbing, and Avalon looked torn between exasperation and fear, herself.

Aragarwen stood up and went quickly to the vanity on which she had balanced the tray with food for the girls. She took a goblet and filled it from a pitcher of water she had also brought. She brought it to the bed and, while Avalon watched, took a sip to show her that it was okay to drink, before offering it to the girl. Avalon's face melted into a moue of relief and gratitude, and she coaxed the little girl in her arms to sit up and take a drink once the hiccoughs had subsided. The cool water had been brewed with calming herbs, and the girl rubbed her eyes before looking at her mother, the fear not yet erased.

The elf's heart broke for the young woman, who looked almost as lost and confused as the child. She turned quickly and brought the tray of food to the bed, setting it near enough to be reached.

"Here, eat," she said, even knowing they wouldn't be able to understand her. "You need your strength."

* * *

Avalon sighed, picking up a slice of what looked like cocktail bread. She layered it with a slice of the offered cheese—it looked rather like cheddar—and an apple slice, then handed it to Merideth.

"Come on, Merri, you need to eat something."

"I want to go home," Meredith whined, more tears already forming in her eyes.

"Merri, I told you," Avalon sighed, setting down the bread and fruit to gather the girl in her arms again. "There was an accident. We can't go home until we get better," she said, trying to explain as best she could. "But we can't get better without food," she added, picking up the miniature sandwich to offer again. Meredith took it with a pout, picking it apart in her lap without eating. Avalon sighed and took some bread and cheese for herself. Once her cousin saw her eating, she began to pick at the apple slice, nibbling at it until nothing but the skin remained. Avalon didn't have the energy to fight with her about eating the skins, and so it was put back on the tray while Merideth picked another apple slice and began eating it, with only slightly more enthusiasm this time.

Avalon looked up at Aragarwen, who was watching them with a sight expression of satisfaction.

"Uhm… I hope I'm saying this right, since clearly it's been a while since I learned any elvish… And I actually don't know if it's Sindarian or Quenya or what… And I still think you're all bat-crap crazy, but… ah… hannon lle," she said. Their nurse—since that's what Avalon assumed she was—smiled brightly.

"Lle creoso," she responded. There was that laugh again. Avalon looked down at Merideth, who was on her third apple slice, and rest her forehead on the top of the girl's hair, closing her eyes to think.

The woman said something, and Avalon looked back up. The woman looked curious and sympathetic, but Avalon didn't understand a word of what she said. She gave an aggravated sigh and shook her head.

"I don't understand," she said, frustrated, throwing her shoulders into a violent shrug while her arms stayed firmly around Meredith. "Why can't you just speak English? If this is all some sort of elaborate joke, it's not very funny," she snapped. Aragarwen's lips curled into a regretful smile. She said something else, then indicated herself, then the door, followed by Avalon and Merideth, then the wash basin in the corner.

Avalon glanced over at the basin, which had an elaborate pump spigot, but no indication of hot or cold taps. Next to it were a pile of fluffy cloths, which she assumed must be towels. Avalon nodded.

"Hannon lle," she said softly. Aragarwen nodded, and then made for the door, closing it gently behind her. Avalon was surprised to hear the lack of a latch-click.

"Hang on here, Meredith " she said, settling the girl in the middle of the bed. She went to the door and opened it, looking up and down the hall. At one end, she saw Aragarwen look back, smile, and make a shooing motion before turning the corner. Avalon closed the door and noticed a lock above the handle. She clicked it shut, then went to the wash basin. She could almost feel the grime of the last day suffocating her.

She gave the handle a pump experimentally, and was surprised when the water came out steaming.

"Come on, Meredith let's get washed up," she said, picking up a waxy bar next to the basin and sniffing it experimentally. Was that… Lavender and patchouli? She smiled despite herself, and lathered up one of the provided flannels before starting to wash her face.

* * *

Aragarwen approached Thranduil's study, where she assumed Lords Elladan and Elrohir would be. She was bid enter, and sure enough, the twins stood around a desk, with several other elves, all poring over a map.

"Milords, I'm sorry for interrupting," she said with a curtsy.

"Don't trouble yourself," Elladan said, straightening. "We've been at this for hours now, I was beginning to think we would do nothing but talk in circles all day," he said, giving one of the other elves a look. He seemed somewhat chastised, and nodded as he gathered up the maps and charts.

"Do you have more news of our guests?" Elrohir put in, coming to speak more quietly with Aragarwen.

"They have awoken and eaten, so I left them to wash up," Aragarwen provided. "The woman, Avalon," she began, pausing to gether her thoughts. Elladan joined his brother in looking expectantly at her. "She spoke, before thanking me for the food, and she mentioned both Sindarian and Quenya. Earlier, she tried to greet me in Quenya, but she thanked me in Sindarian. I get the impression that she knows of our kind, but not enough to distinguish between modes of speech," Aragarwen said.

Elladan and Elrohir exchanged looks.

"The first mode of elvish she spoke was Sindarian," Elrohir said after a moment. The brothers shared an amused look. "It is possible that she was only taught certain phrases, with little regard as to what mode they were, simply as 'elvish'. Although, she appeared to speak several other languages as well, but none that I'd ever heard," he added.

Aragarwen nodded.

"That makes sense, milord. But… what will we do with them? It is very nearly winter; they cannot travel back to Rohan, or Gondor, or wherever they may hail from. Not even with an escort; they could not travel quickly enough."

And therein lay the crux of the problem. Elladan and Elrohir exchanged glances, and there was a heavy silence.

"I do not know," Elladan said, at long last.


	5. Chapter 5

I admit I had a bit of fun at the end of this chapter. I'm contemplating a few changes to my original storyline that make it so that the title, Babysitter, is a little bit... Well, perhaps not as all-encompassing as it originally would have been. The title I have in mind to move forward with is, "Lost and Found." If I change the title, I will add _(Formerly "Babysitter")_to the title for two or three chapters before phasing out the old title entirely. Thoughts?

Thank you to everyone for your support, reviews, and follows; here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Elladan and Elrohir paused outside of the door, surprised to hear a somewhat rhythmic clapping and chanting, although it was interspersed with giggles. They looked to Aragarwen, who shrugged. The door had been unlocked already, but they knocked and listened as the clapping stopped, and there was the thump of someone rolling off the bed. The door creaked open. The woman said something-a greeting-once she spotted Aragarwen.

"Hello, milady. May we speak with you?" Elladan asked gently. She, of course, frowned in lack of understanding. Aragarwen ducked between the elf lords and gently pulled the human woman aside, pointing to the elves, then to the two sitting chairs in the room, then made the hopefully-universal talking motions with her hands, even as she spoke softly in Sindarin.

The girl's face lit up with understand, and she made an "Oh!" of recognition. She nodded and half-shrugged, muttering something else. She turned back to the girl on the bed, who had looked brighter, but was now starting to look scared at the introduction of new people to the mix.

Aragarwen was surprised to see Lord Elrohir kneel beside the bed.

"Good morning," he said gently, looking just at the little girl. "Are you feeling better?" When she buried her face in Avalon's shoulder, Elrohir began singing softly.

Avalon's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open as recognition flit across her face, followed by an apologetic expression.

* * *

Avalon's surprise at the entrance of two young men with Aragarwen turned to surprise, then embarrassment as one of them knelt by the bed to speak to the frightened Meredith. When he started singing, she recognized the pair as the ones who had 'attacked' them in the woods by the car.

"Oh, god, were you were trying to rescue us?" she asked rhetorically with a low moan, not able to meet any of their eyes. "I'm sorry," she groaned, trying to remember if any of her thrashing had hurt anyone other than herself. The man who was still standing let out a rich laugh, just as musical as Aragarwen's, but deeper. Aragarwen stepped forward again, and addressed Avalon by name. She looked up.

Aragarwen gestured towards each of the men, saying something. Avalon frowned. Aragarwen pointed at the kneeling one, who hadn't stopped singing to the enchanged Meredith, and said clearly, "Hîr Elrohir," and then to the standing man, she pointed and said "Hîr Elladan."

Avalon frowned, looking from one to the other. The man Aragarwen had identified as Hîr Elladan-she wondered briefly if Hîr was the family name-bowed politely, and said with the tiniest of smirks, "Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo."

Avalon blushed at the reminder of her butchering of Tolkein's elvish, before the thought occurred to her.

_Tolkien's _elvish.

Hîr wasn't a name, it was a title. Lord. Lords Elladan and Elrohir. From Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. These people were pretending to be Tolkien characters, and she was bloody _playing along_. Avalon gently lay Meredith on the bed-she had begun to drift off to the soothing timbre of 'Elrohir's singing. She rounded on the standing man, fixing him with a piercing glare.

"Okay, this has gone beyond ridiculous. I can't believe you would take a joke this far. This is bordering on kidnapping! Hell, no, this _is_ kidnapping! Take me back to my car so I can call for help again, and escape you complete nutters! This is bloody insane. You have no right whatsoever to keep us here, to involve us in your silly little larp-ing adventure. Let us go, give us a goddamned phone, so I can call the bloody police!" she hissed, mindful not to let Meredith hear her "bad words" even as she was poking the surprised Elladan in the chest. He seemed confused, but then a look of understanding came across his face, and he nodded. Avalon almost sighed in relief, when he beckoned her follow.

She stopped, taken aback, looking to her cousin asleep on the bed. Aragarwen nodded encouragingly as Elladan said something, and walked out the door, looking back in obvious invitation to follow him.

Reluctantly, Avalon left Meredith asleep, and strode down the hall after the man who she hoped was taking her to a phone. This was bloody insane, but the girl seemed nice enough. Nothing would happen to Meredith, and they'd all be gone in a few hours.

She was led through twisting hallways, and found herself reluctantly impressed with the lengths these people went through to make a realistic playing field.

The man she was following stopped in front of a great pair of oak doors. He heaved them open, and Avalon peered into what seemed to be a great hall.

Her jaw dropped. She stepped into the room, horror and rage bubbling up from deep within her chest.

The floor was covered in canvas, and arranged tidily in rows and block sections was the entirety of her car, disassembled into its basest parts, with men flitting among them, inspecting bits here and there. Her radio was disassembled on a table along a wall, and the engine lay in half-assembled pieces on another heavy wooden desk, and the tires were stacked in a corner. A low chatter hummed throughout the room, quieting quickly as everyone turned to the door. There were greetings for the man beside her, and curious looks for her.

Avalon took in the organized wreckage before whirling on her escort.

"_What_. Did. You. _Do_. To. _MY_. _CAR_."

* * *

Elladan was somewhat surprised when the girl on the bed stalked up to her and began speaking in low, urgent anger. After a moment of thinking, he relaxed a bit.

"You prison has been taken care of, milady, although we do not know where your attacker might be," he said gently. "Come, I will show you."

With some coaxing, the woman agreed to leave her daughter to follow him out of the room and down the hall. He swung open the doors to the great hall, where he had a team examining the strange machine that had held her captive. He stepped back, pleased with himself for a moment. The woman's expression changed from curiosity to surprise, then to shock and horror. He was about to come forward to comfort her when she spun on her heel and face him, her face a mask of rage as she said something in a low, angry tone.

Elladan had heard that tone from his father, only once, after he and Elrohir had broken something important. He grimaced and took a step back.

"Ah... perhaps," he began, as all eyes were on him in the room, "Perhaps I have misjudged the situation?" he offered placatingly.


	6. Chapter 6

My inspiration for this is choking out my motivation for all my other stories. Sorry if you're waiting on Allies or the edits of Long Way From Innocence o_o; I actually had written through chapter 8, but then I realized I was being an idiot and had to re-think everything again. I also need to get a hold of my copy of the Hobbit somewhere. Until then, take any Tolkien-verse continuity errors as author's license. I'm working on getting the Sindarin/Sindarian issue taken care of; that might be a bit though...

Warning: Avalon gets really, really mad in the beginning of this chapter, and says some really bad words. :O

* * *

Elladan watched with confusion and concern as she stalked up to the slateboard and swiped her arm roughly across an area of writing. She then drew crude representations of parts of the mechanized prison she had been held in, connecting them with operators before equating them to a rough pictogram of the metal beast. She jabbed the chalk at the complete image before gesticulating wildly, demanding something in frantic tones. When nobody moved, she stomped a foot and let out a guttural scream of frustration.

Elladan grimaced. Yes, he thought. He certainly had misjudged the situation.

"Engine." Jab. "Chassis." Jab. "Wheels. Transmission." Jab, jab. "Put. It. Back. Together. _Now_."

More blank looks. Avalon stomped her other foot and growled again. "You're kidding me. You're _fucking _kidding me. This is so _fucking_ insane, you assholes! Joke's over, take us the _fuck_ home!"

When there was no response, other than some exchanged looks between the men in the hall, with some of them seeming to sort of find themselves shifting away from the obviously insane woman, Avalon screamed and took off for the door, just short of outright sprinting, and blew past the wide-eyed Elladan, down the hall in the opposite direction of where she came from, intent on finding a phone or a game master or a cop or something. She stalked down the halls, the dress she had been given barely managing to not get tangled in her legs as she ungracefully stomped past a pair of surprised guards at a door. It opened into the forest, and she could look back and see the face of a mountain.

"Bloody fucking..." She gasped as she looked back and up. She turned and took off running into the woods, barely making it two hundred yards before she tripped, dropping to her knees and gasping for breath as she clutched the side of a wooden wall. She glanced up and felt the wind leave her as if she had been socked in the gut.

The tree that towered over her would put every single trunk in the Redwood Forest to utter shame. There were a dozen more such trees surrounding her, plus more gnarled, twisted trunks that grew thick and strong despite the lack of light filtering down from the immense canopy above.

She stared upwards, eyes wide with awe and terror, unable to breathe for what seemed like ages. She didn't hear the footsteps approach from behind, nor did she hear a soft voice calling to her.

"Avalon," he finally addressed her by name.

"You built them."

More words, musical but nonsense.

"They're holograms."

More lilting babble.

"I died. Ran off the road. I killed us both."

Concerned tones as he knelt in front of her. She didn't see him, eyes still locked on the impossibly huge trees. He touched her cheek gently.

Finally, Avalon met his eyes. "Hir Elladan," she said softly. He nodded, smiling slightly. Avalon snorted. "Hir Elladan and Hir Elrohir of Middle earth. You all are bloody insane. Or I am. Maybe I'm dead. I'd rather be in Imladris. Elrond could fix me up. This is all stone and caves. Mirkwood elves suck," she muttered. "Mister Holly-berry-crown Thranduil and his Hall Under the Mountain. Bloody elves. Fucking dragon and the Arkenstone and Estel and Arwen and Mithrandir and every other bloody maiar and elf and man and what is this mess? I was just driving. We died. I died. Oh, god, Meredith, I'm so sorry," Avalon's voice broke over her words, and before she knew it, she was sobbing openly into her knees.

* * *

After following the girl to the doors, uttering a quick explanation to the confused guards, Elladan tracked her outside. He had gone barely out of sight into the forest, and he saw her leaning against a tree trunk, staring up at the leaves above them. He couldn't see her face, but he remembered his own awe at the thick, dark woods of Mirkwood, more twisted than the great trees of his grandmother's home, larger than those of his own.

"Milady, are you alright?"

She said nothing, her body rigid against the tree. He could hear her breath catch.

"Lady Avalon," he said gently, coming around her side.

She spoke, some anger coming into the words.

"Milady, I do not understand," Elladan said gently. Another utterance, more accusing this time. "Milady, I'm sorry, I..."

She choked on her words, and Elladan came around to see the fear and hurt in her eyes.

"Please, come back inside, so we can try to find out what is wrong. Your daughter will be missing you," he said, touching her cheek gently. Her eyes met his.

"Lord Elladan," she breathed. He was about to nod, when she said her brothers name. Then more nonsense, until Elladan realized he could pick out names. Imladris. His father's name. Thranduil-King and the maia, Mithrandir. Even his sister..! With a growing fear and apprehension, he sat back on his heels as she invoked her daughter's name, then broke into sobs.

His confusion only increased. She seemed to know him, and his family. But... he also knew his family, and of the wizard, and despite the maia's occasional oddities (this whole business with the halflings...!), none of them, he imagined, should be cause for distress.

Despite his misgivings about his own singing, and knowing humans often couldn't tell the difference, he began humming softly an old, gentle song to calm her down.

It worked, and before long her sobs faded into occasional hiccoughs, before she drew a deep shuddering breath and finally looked up to meet his eyes. She seemed to be searching for something in his gaze. He stood, offering a hand to help her up. With a sigh, she took it. She said something. Elladan caught the name of her daughter, and offered an arm to help her back to the halls. She took it, her knees obviously still weak, and he led her slowly and silently back to the room where Elrohir and Aragarwen were presumably still with the child.


	7. Chapter 7

I just spent an hour and a half researching horse gaits, doing math, and poring over maps for you guys. I even had to un-bend my only bobby pin to create a makeshift compass, as well as tape two sheets of paper together for my timeline, so I could answer questions like, "If Elladan and Elrohir are 2,792 years old, how long ago did Gilraen die?" ...The answer is, of course, "Trick question: She doesn't die for another 66 years." Wut? At this point, any canon "mistakes" I make are willful ignorance.

The good news is, I officially have, crammed onto four pages of loose leaf, the completed plot outline of this story. For the first time in my life, I find myself with all the tools I need to be capable of completing a story within a reasonable time period. The bad news is, today is November 1st, which means NaNoWriMo. I'll endeavor to get another chapter up within a reasonable time frame. Feedback would help keep me on track, you know... :D

* * *

Avalon gathered Meredith in her arms, holding her tightly as tears ran down her cheeks. The younger girl was still asleep, and the men-Elves? Angels? Whatever-were watching with concern, speaking in very low tones to the woman-Angel?-who had been helping care for them.

Meredith stirred, bringing her hands up to rub at sleepy eyes.

"Avvie?" she asked in her small voice. Avalon quickly wiped her tears away and put on a bright smile for her little cousin.

"Her, Merri. How are you feeling?" she asked gently.

"My head hurts," Meredith pouted, clutching her head dramatically. Avalon wanted to laugh, but something brought her pause. People don't hurt in heaven. Do they?

"I'm sorry, hun," Avalon said, cradling the girl's head against her shoulder. "Let's see if we can't get some medicine, okay?"

"Can we just go home?" Meredith asked, looking around some more. Avalon felt a lump grow in her throat.

"No, sweetie, we can't," she said quietly.

"I wanna go home," Meredith said, pulling away from Avalon. She groaned, biting her lip.

"Meredith," she began, with a little bit of warning in her tone. This caught the attention of the elves-men-on the other side of the room. One of them came over. Avalon couldn't tell who. He said something, but stopped mid-sentence, pinching the bridge of his nose as he seemed to change tracts and lamented something out loud. Avalon could understand the sentiment-realizing suddenly that speech was of no use. He sighed, then held out a hand for Meredith, who looked up at him suspiciously.

He said something in a gentle, soothing tone. Meredith looked at Avalon.

"What's he saying?" she asked, frowning. Avalon tried to keep her own frown hidden.

"I don't know. We're really lost, and I don't know how to speak... ah... French. I think we're in Canada," she invented quickly.

"I don't wanna be in Canada!" Meredith protested.

"Neither do I, sweetie, but we can't do anything about it. The car is broken, and they don't have a phone here. We have to wait until we can get the car fixed," Avalon said, hating herself inwardly for the lies spilling easily from her lips. She thanked God that Meredith didn't seem to wonder how they had crossed the whole of Lake Huron to get _to_ Canada.

The elf said something else gently, taking Meredith's hand on his own when she didn't reach for his. He pointed to the door. Meredith shook her head, pulling her hand from his and burying her face in Avalon's shoulder. The young woman sighed.

"I wish I knew what you were saying," she muttered, holding Meredith with an apologetic look towards the elf-_man_-in front of them. He nodded in understanding, then turned to say something to Aragarwen. She nodded, then left the room.

* * *

Elrohir wasn't quite sure about what his brother was telling him, but it seemed that the young woman was rather angry at seeing her disassembled attacker. He recalled the noxious fumes it emitted, and the fear in her eyes as they watched from the woods. Nevertheless, he and Elladan had instructed the elves working on the project to make as many notes as they could, then reassemble the monster.

He noticed the woman's daughter begin to stir, and after watching her get frustrated and angry-as children were wont to do-he thought that maybe getting her some fresh air would be good. There was a lovely garden outside of a nearby exit-one of the healer's gardens-which he thought might please the child with its flowers.

"Perhaps she would like to-" he paused, remembering that the young woman and her daughter spoke nothing of Sindarin. He frowned, massaging the small point of tension forming in his brow. "Right. Of course," he said with the smallest sigh. He knelt by the young girl, holding out a hand.

"Would you like to go on a walk?" he asked anyway, gesturing towards the door. She girl ignored him, complaining to Avalon, who seemed to try to comfort her. Elrohir took the girl's hand, but she pulled away and hid in her mother's hair. Avalon sighed and seemed to apologize. Elrohir shook his head and stood.

"Aragarwen, would you mind trying to locate a slateboard for us? And let Finwe know that we will need some more permanent guest quarters for the lady and her daughter." Aragarwen curtsied and left the room.

There was a brief silence as Elladan and Elrohir regarded each other, then the woman. She returned their gaze evenly, before saying something with a sigh, rolling her eyes. She stood up, hefting the weight of her daughter onto one hip. The girl was truly almost as big as she was, so it can't have been easy, but the child clung like a little squirrel to a branch. She began saying soothing things to the child, who eventually unwrapped her legs and stood on her own, although she stayed in Avalon's arms. She addressed them again, just a short phrase, though the weight of the world seemed contained therein.

* * *

Avalon sighed, staring at the elves-_men__, __dammit_-and gave a weary half-shrug.

"What now?" she asked softly. Within moments, there was a knock, and the door swung back open. Aragarwen returned, carrying a wooden-framed sheet of slate, and some little white sticks. Avalon gave a sigh of relief. Communication!

One of the twins took the slate and thanked Aragarwen, who said something else. He nodded, then regarded the slate. After a moment, he began marking on it. Avalon looked on curiously, and after a moment, he presented the front of the board to her. There were three figures in a room, one shorter than the other two. He had marked Avalon's curly hair, and his own long straight hair. An arrow pointed towards the three figures beside a set of stairs, then a third arrow indicated them surrounded by flowers, with a large round sun up above them.

Avalon could have laughed with relief.

"Come on, Merri, let's go look at their garden," she said, nodding to Elrohir. He smiled, then held out his arm to escort the young woman.

"I don't wanna," Meredith grumbled.

"We have to be polite," Avalon said. "These people are helping us," she added. Meredith allowed herself t be dragged along, and they indeed went up a flight of stairs to arrive at another open door. Avalon sucked in a breath at the view, and even Meredith stopped her grumbling for a moment as she looked around at the greenery, dotted with reds, yellows, purples and pinks. The garden was clearly organized, but it was overgrown and wild. A few women were here and there, gathering flower buds or leaves or roots. A stream ran down the mountain from behind them, splashing happily through one side of the garden, bridged by a few stepping stones.

Meredith watched the butterflies-larger and brighter than Avalon had ever seen before-flit from shrub to shrub, and left Avalon's side immediately to try and chase them. Avalon breathed a sigh of relief. Elrohir indicated a bench and said something. Avalon gathered the invitation to sit from his tone, and did so. He sat next to her and brushed the slate clean with his hands. She watched curiously as he began drawing some more. He started with top-view of the room they had been in, with its bed, vanity, and small desk. He then drew a box, with three adjacent boxes, and began filling in what seemed to be furniture. Avalon recognized a bed in each room, and what might have been a washroom or a toilet, plus a hearth (he drew a small fire by it), and long couches in the largest of the rooms.

A suite? she wondered. He drew an arrow from the small room to the larger suite, then indicated her and Meredith, who was balancing on the stones crossing the stream, and pointed to the arrow and larger suite.

"You're moving us?" she asked, frowning to herself. Perhaps it made sense. Were they in some sort of hospital wing? Did Heaven have hospitals? It was all terribly confusing, but she nodded. She held out her hand for the slate, and he gave it to her. She wiped it clean again, and drew her picture of the car.

"What about this? My car?" she asked. She didn't think she could let go of it. If this was heaven, no harm in having it. If it wasn't, she'd need it to get home. Elrohir nodded and said something. Avalon took for granted that he said they were putting it back together, and sighed. She looked back down at the slate, wiping it off again. She then drew a book, and a feather quill and a pot of ink. She didn't assume ballpoint pens would be available, but she pointed to the instruments, then herself, then made writing motions.

"Whatever is going on, I want to start a diary. And I'd like my camera back," she muttered as an afterthought. Elrohir nodded, somewhat surprised at her apparent literacy. He understood most human women didn't read or write. At least, not very many. Maybe if they could learn her language-it would likely be easier than her learning theirs-they could figure out where she came from, since it had become clear she was neither Gondorian nor Rohirric.

Avalon sighed, watching Meredith get carried away in the sunlight, envious of her ability to forget their situation when presented with such a lovely distraction as the garden.


	8. Chapter 8

Discovery of the Day: Tom Bombadil was a maia. Wut? Didn't realize/register that. I feel like I read it somewhere years and years ago (probably in the same place I just re-discovered that factoid), but it entirely slipped my mind.

Furthermore, Legolas disliking going underground with Gimli is utter bull. Thranduil's halls are inside a bloody mountain! The one book I've got relates them to another great underground city of some ancient elf-lord or something. But my sleep-deprived brain sits there and thinks "Undercity" and all that is running through my head right now is "Victory for Silvana!" and I think I'm going crazy. Just puttin' that out there. I want a giant bat to fly around on.

In other news, Happy New Year! I'm sorry for the short chapter, but if I tried to write any more right now, you'd never get an update.

* * *

"Names, Elrohir," he murmured urgently. "She knows names she should not. Estel, and Arwen," he murmured, far below the threshold of human hearing. "She called Mithrandir by that name, instead of the silly Gandalf moniker he uses among humans. Elrohir, something is terribly wrong, but she was in so much pain."

Elrohir nodded slowly, watching the young woman talk to the girl beside her in low tones, even as they followed Aragarwen and one of the senior healers through twisting hallways and up stairs, into a tower. They stopped in front of a carved wooden door, and Elladan and Elrohir watched as it was pulled open. Aragarwen ushered the young woman and her daughter into the room, and the elves could hear the gasps of delight even before they followed them into the room.

Upon peeking through the doorway, they noticed that Avalon seemed particularly pleased with the yellow and blue bags upon the table in their sitting area. She was rifling through them with a wide grin of relief. She turned to them with a look of gratitude, and said, in her still-odd-sounding elvish, "Thank you." She added something else, but repeated thanks again at the end.

"You are welcome," Aragarwen said gently before pointing out the rooms. "Your bedrooms are here, and the water closet is through here," she said, pointing. It was unlikely that Avalon understood, but she nodded all the same.

* * *

After digging through our bags and concluding that everything was present, Avalon breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to the elves who had escorted them to the new rooms. "Hannon lle," she said. "Thank you so much, I don't know what I'd do without this stuff. Hannon lle," she repeated. She then turned to Meredith, who was looking around the room curiously.

"Merri, this is our new hotel, while they fix our car for us," she explained. "They're working very hard, but the car is very broken," she said seriously. Meredith nodded.

"Avvie, can we eat? I'm hungry," she said. Avalon let out a breath and almost laughed.

"Let's see what we can do," she said, trying to remember if she knew the word for 'please.' Nothing came to mind, so she gestured for the chalkboard that Aragarwen was still carrying. Avalon quickly drew a plate of cheese and fruit like they had been brought earlier that day, then pointed to Meredith. Aragarwen nodded and said something to the man to whom the girls hadn't been introduced. He nodded and let her sweep past him into the hallway.

"We're working on it," Avalon said to Meredith. The little girl nodded with a big grin before latching herself to Avalon's hip.

"Avvie, you have color pens, so can I color while I wait?"

Avalon bit her lip for a second-she didn't want to waste the notebook paper she had on scribbles, since she had planned to write about this whole experience thoroughly. But Meredith came first, so after a heavy pause, she nodded, reaching for the spiral notebook she had, and digging through her purse for the blue, red, and green pens that she had. As Elladan and Elrohir watched curiously, she uncapped the pens and scribbled on the notebook to make sure they worked before settling Meredith down at the coffee table. She immediately picked up the red pen and started drawing. Avalon straightened up and looked at the men who were watching them. She shrugged with a wry grin.

"Kids," she offered with a shrug. There was no way the men understood her, but they nodded in apparent understanding. Elladan reached out a hand toward the duffel bag on the table, saying something in a questioning tone of voice.

"Survival kit?" Avalon offered, reaching for it and pulling it open for them to see. Elladan took it as an invitation and slowly reached in, pulling out the flashlight, holding it out to Avalon as he asked something. Avalon assumed it was something along the lines of "What is this?"

Avalon quickly turned it around in her hands. She pointed to the mirrored reflector and light bulb, then the button. She pointed it to the wall and clicked the button, lighting up a spotlight on the wall. She turned it off, then handed it to Elladan, who turned it over with a look of wonder on his face.

"Flashlight," she said, pointing to it.

"Flashlight?" he repeated. She nodded. He pointed it at the wall and clicked the button, letting out a soft hum of delight when it worked for him. Avalon couldn't help but grin. She pulled out her camera from the purse. Whens he clicked it on, the lense extended automatically, startling the elf slightly. She pointed it at him. "Say Cheese," she said brightly, making sure the flash was off. She pressed the shutter button, and there was a beep and a click. She quickly turned the camera to 'Play' mode and looked at the picture. She raised an eyebrow. The room around him looked fine, but Elladan himself seemed overexposed, like someone had applied a softglow filter to him alone. She shrugged, turning the screen to face him. Eyes wide, he took the camera in hand and examined the picture until it turned itself off to conserve battery. He looked up at Avalon, confusion written clearly on his face.

"Camera," she said, pointing at the device. She turned it back on, then pointed to the image. "Picture," she said. She zoomed out, so that multiple images appeared on the screen in tiny thumbnails. "Picture, picture, picture," she said, pointing to each, so that he got the idea.

"Picture, camera," Elladan said slowly, a slight frown on his face. Avalon noticed this.

"What?" she asked, also frowning. Elladan took in her tone and shook his head, muttering something softly, as though apologizing. He set the camera carefully on the table, and called to his brother, who had been kneeling by Meredith, 'helping' her color. They spoke for a moment, then turned to Avalon. Elladan bowed to Avalon, and Elrohir followed suit, saying something before pointing to the door. They both approached the door and said something else.

"Oh, you have to leave?" Avalon asked, guessing their intent. She wondered if she should have shown him the camera after all-that's what seemed to change his mood. She nodded.

"Uhm, bye, I guess?" she said. They seemed to bid her farewell and left, closing the door behind them. Arwen noticed that Aragarwen had not yet returned, and the other elf who had escorted them had left while she had been occupied. She turned back to the table with her things on it and sighed.


	9. Chapter 9

Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for sticking with me. This is absurdly short, but I wanted you to have SOMETHING so you didn't think I'd abandoned this altogether. I graduate college in 25 days, so I'm busy with job hunting and such. (If you want to pay me to do something-ANYTHING (legal, lol)-let me know. I'm serious. I got bills to pay, and my current job ends with the semester.)

Secondly, I couldn't determine whether the word "engine" had ever been used in any context in any Tolkien work without going back and re-reading all of my source material again. The term itself predates combustion engines by at least 300 years, and meant "a mechanical device," used in applications such as 'siege engine' and so on. Given my research, I assume that, while unfamiliar with internal combustion engines as we know them, the term itself might have an elvish equivalent somewhere in the language.

* * *

"I'm concerned, brother," Elladan said quietly. Elrohir nodded.

"As am I. Their circumstances are strange, and if Lady Avalon indeed knows anything about the names you heard, it is a far more curious predicament than we could have initially imagined. Has the team finished re-assembling that strange machine that had held her captive?"

Elladan shook his head. "It is terribly complex. Their notes are thorough, but it seems that re-assembly takes more specialized tools than deconstruction did. Though, I am wondering now if it truly was a captor," he added, after a pause. Elrohir raised an elegant eyebrow at him, inquiring as to his meaning. "It has wheels, and the elves told me that..."

"Yes?" Elrohir leaned in. Elladan dropped his voice even lower.

"The machine seems to be-and this is merely informed speculation-some sort of enclosed wagon, with a system of gears to steer from within, and it seems to have a sort of incendiary motor engine to propel it along," Elladan said, with a trace of awe at the ingenuity of the process-despite the noxious fumes he remembered it emitting.

Elrohir's eyes widened somewhat. "Who among humans would have the wherewithal to conceive of such a device?" he asked in a hushed voice. Elladan shook his head slowly.

"I have no idea," he said, just as softly. "But we need to find out. You have a gift for languages, brother, perhaps together we could learn her tongue. It is nothing like anything I've heard before, but she is obviously literate; it should be easy enough to create a working dialogue."

Elrohir nodded slowly. "We can certainly try," he said. "It would, of course, help her daughter as well. The child has nobody to understand her right now," he added with a sad smile. The brothers exchanged looks before parting ways. Elrohir would go to the library-perhaps the King had some childrens books that they could use as a framework for learning. Elladan needed to find out if Aragarwen had provided the girls with an adequate dinner before he approached with his thoughts on exchanging languages.


	10. Chapter 10

I've already rambled on in at least two separate locations about my lack of creativity, so I'll spare you. I apologize for the wait-if anyone is indeed still waiting on this-and I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Avalon absentmindedly twirled her hair around her fingers, frowning at the chalkboard in front of her. Tengwar swam in front of her eyes as she wracked her brain for any other words she knew of elvish-in either mode. She had come up with 'yrch' and 'vasa', only one of which was even remotely useful in her situation.

She let out a frustrated sigh. Meredith was on the couch nearby, making up stories for the picture books that Elladan and Elrohir had brought them, reading them out loud to one of the bewildered twins, who patiently nodded along. She silently praised the elf lord's tenacity, as he seemed determined to stick with her until the story's end, which had been delayed three times already because Meredith "messed up" and had to start over from the beginning.

When the two men had approached her earlier, they managed to communicate that, really, they could not communicate without a common language. Only when one of them started carefully copying each word she said, did she understand that they wanted her to teach them English.

Well, it was certainly easier than learning Sindarin, she figured. Except for the part where she had never taught anyone a language. Even her Japanese studies were founded on the basis that the instructor knew both languages and could provide vocabulary and grammar tips in the student's native tongue. She had to teach them as if they were children, with no real basis other than context clues.

After a long deliberation, she began drawing on the chalkboard. She could passably indicate each of the items that they had been brought for lunch. So, she drew them and turned the board around.

"Food is probably an important thing, so here we go," she said. The elf who was paying attention to her, focused intently. The elf 'reading' with Merideth, also seemed to perk up and divide his attention between the two occurrences, still nodding encouragingly at the story.

"Bread," she said, pointing to the picture of the sliced loaf. "Cheese," she said, indicating. "Apple," she added. Then, she circled them all together. "Food." Or Meal, or pictures, or chalk, or any number of other interpretations for what she was pointing at. Avalon tried not to let herself think about how many ways she could be misinterpreted. The elves dutifully tried out the words, but Avalon knew that this was in vain. A dinner menu was not a conversation, and none of it helped her get home.

As if understanding her frustration, the one unhindered by her cousin's storytelling stood up. Squinting a little bit, she determined that it must be Elrohir. He was the one who seemed to be picking up on the words most quickly, at least. He held out a hand for the chalkboard. Confused, Avalon handed it over. She frowned when he set it on the table, and gestured for her to come. She looked at Meredith, who had turned around at the movement.

"Avvie, I'm not done with my story," she cried, indignant.

"Merideth, I need to go," she said, looking exasperated. "You can come with me, or stay here by yourself," she threatened. Meredith's eyes widened as she scrambled to her feet and latched onto one of Avalon's arms. "Very well, then," Avalon said, adjusting the girl to hold her hand as she looked up expectantly at their guides.

They were led down several winding hallways to find a single, wide door, which was pushed open into a bustling kitchen. A dozen elleth were going about their business among the pots, pans, and fires.

One of them noted the intrusion and, wiping her hands on her apron, curtsied to the elf lords, asking them a polite question. The responded in kind, and then gestured to the young woman they were escorting. They turned to Avalon, and said, enunciating clearly, "Maeril, food elleth."

"Cook?" Avalon asked. "Elf, who makes food. Cook," she said, trying to indicate what was going on around them. After a little more confusion, they worked out what was indeed being said.

"The cook makes food," Avalon narrated, pointing. "The cook washes dishes," she added, indicating the elleth over by a large sink basin. Understanding the practical application, Avalon enlisted Meredith's help to describe what everyone in the kitchen was doing.

To her credit, Maeril patiently listened, and when the other women became distracted by the guests, she chided them to return to their work.

"That lady is baking bread," Meredith said, pointing. "And that woman is cutting up apples. Avvie, can I have some apples?"

Avalon laughed shortly. "Let's ask." she said, turning to the elves. "She is cutting apples. May we have some?" she asked, miming receiving food and eating.

"Have apples," Maeril said with a smile, taking an apple from the bowl on the counter. She handed it to Meredith who bit into it even as she said "Thank you!"

"Yoor wel-come," Elladan said with a bright grin. Avalon returned it. Maybe this wouldn't be as hopeless as she had thought.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for the continued reviews, favorites, and follows. This one is a bit longer (at 1700 words, it is the fourth longest chapter so far), so I hope it makes up for the wait somewhat. Please enjoy, and as always, feedback is very much appreciated!

* * *

Avalon sat on the corner of the couch, gazing at the doorway behind which her young charge was taking a nap, but only after an explosively angry tantrum. She had screamed herself hoarse, and Avalon was sporting a swollen cheek from the force of the little girl's (perhaps justified) fury.

_"Merrie, we can't go home just yet," Avalon said gently, trying to soothe the girl, whose face was steadily growing redder._

_"I. WANT. MAMA," Meredith insisted, at the top of her small lungs._

_"Honey, we're stuck, Mama can't come get us right now, so we have to just wait and be patient," Avalon said more firmly. Meredith began flailing her arms, and Avalon tried in vain to grab and hold her hands, missing and wincing as a tiny fist landed right on her cheekbone. "MEREDITH. You do _not_ hit people! You know better than that!"_

_"I WANT MAMA! I WANT MAMA! I WANT TO GO HOME TO MAMA AND DADDY AND SISSY AND SANDY!"_

She wasn't proud of simply sending the girl to her room to cry it out, but Avalon had never had to handle such a tantrum before. The child wouldn't see reason—which, Avalon reminded herself, shouldn't be surprising; she was six. After about ten minutes of silence, Avalon had opened the door carefully, and found that the girl had utterly exhausted herself. She had moved Meredith from her sprawled-out position in front of the door to the bed, removed her shoes, and arranged her dress to be more comfortable, then left her to nap.

Avalon gave a frustrated sigh and sunk further into the couch, gingerly touching the blossoming bruise beneath her eye. She turned toward the door at the sound of a light knock. With a sigh, she stood and opened the door a crack. From the hallway, Aragarwen smiled sheepishly.

"For you," she said hesitantly, holding out a small tray with a small bowl of ice and a towel. Avalon smiled and pulled the door the rest of the way open.

"For my bruise," she said softly, indicating the dark spot already forming.

"For you bruise," Aragarwen repeated with a gentle smile. Avalon took the tray and invited Aragarwen into the room. She settled at the table and gestured for the elleth to join her even as she wrapped a piece of ice in the towel and pressed it to her cheek.

"Meredith okay now?" Aragarwen asked. Her vocabulary was not quite as wide as Elladan and Elrohir's had become, but the elves, Avalon determined, were much quicker learners than humans.

"Yes. She is sleeping," Avalon said, folding her hands and closing her eyes in pantomime of the act.

"Sleeping," Aragarwen repeated. Avalon smiled and nodded. Aragarwen sat silent for a moment, then, with a look of concern. "You okay now?" she asked gently.

"Yeah, I don't think she got me too bad," Avalon said, removing the ice and testing the bruise with her fingertips lightly. Aragarwen reached for her hand.

"Not... broose? You, Avalon, okay?"

Avalon blinked. After a moment, she nodded. "Yeah. I think so," she said with a sad smile. It would only get worse, she figured, after a week of the holding pattern they had entered. She understood that there was some tension outside of Thranduil's halls as well, so her own situation was being put off for the time being. It had taken some time to get used to the idea that they were in Middle Earth, and even now it didn't seem real. But, then there were moments, when they went outside and saw the towering, ancient, twisted trees of Mirkwood, that she was socked in the gut with the realization that they were nowhere near 'home.'

Explaining this to Meredith, however, was a trick. Avalon was at a loss for how to handle her. There were no daycares for elf children—Avalon hadn't seen anyone who seemed younger than what might be the equivalent of young adult, although she wasn't sure what translated in terms of ages and development stages in elves. If she remembered, Elrond was somewhere around six thousand years old when he traveled to the West. Elladan and Elrohir were maybe... two thousand? Three? They looked like young men; it was impossible to tell with elves.

Avalon regret never being good at timelines, facts, and numbers. It would help her now, she was sure, but all she could remember under pressure was that her saviors existed—and that they belonged in Rivendell. Imladris. _Wherever_, she mused.

For her part, Aragarwen bore Avalon's pensive silence well, and smiled a bit secretively when she heard the footsteps of a pair of elves—Avalon, however, would be startled by the knock. It amused Aragarwen to be reminded of how dull human' senses were in comparison.

Avalon stood and went to the door, opening it tentatively.

Elladan and Elrohir looked concerned as soon as they saw her, still pressing the ice against her cheek.

"Avalon, you okay?" Elladan asked. She nodded.

"Meredith got angry and hit me," she said, miming a punch to her face. Elladan frowned.

"Where is Meredith?" he asked, looking into the room.

"Asleep," Avalon replied, once again miming sleep as she had for Aragarwen. She thought the twins knew the word, but couldn't be sure. "Come in," she invited.

The twins noted Aragarwen's presence with some relief, and spoke to her briefly. She nodded and stood to leave.

"I come again," she said to Avalon.

"Okay, I'll see you later," Avalon replied, holding the door for her as she swept out and down the hall.

"Avalon, we have words about your... car," Elrohir said. Avalon perked up, looking expectant.

"But, not good," he added hastily, seeing the hope in her eyes. Avalon seemed to wilt, letting out a defeated sigh.

"We can not fix your car," he said carefully. "Not like it was," he said. Avalon sunk into one of the chairs at the table and buried her face in her folded arms, breathing deeply.

"Well, what now, then?" she murmured to herself.

"We have... Ai!" He gave a sigh of frustration, saying something in Sindarin. "Elves. Work on your car. But..." He struggled for the words that he did not yet know. He conferred with Elladan for a moment.

"Angry? Hit. Yrch hit us, elves," he tried to explain. Some more Sindarin, and he looked frusrtated. "Thranduil is gone to hit yrch. Do you understand?" he asked. Avalon frowned, sitting up straighter.

"Thranduil... left for a battle?" she asked.

"Battle?" Elrohir asked, testing the new word.

"A fight. Hit many yrch with many elves together," she tried to explain.

"Yes!" Elrohir cried. "Yes. A Battle. Thranduil has left for a battle," he said. "Many elves go with him. No elves can work on your car."

"Okay. I understand," Avalon said, crossing her arms and frowning at the floor. "I don't know what... Ugh. I don't know how to... Explain. To Meredith," she said, looking pleadingly up at the elves. "Today she was angry. She wants to go home," she said. "I want to go home, too. I thought having the car would help, but I don't know what else to do," she lamented. A knock interrupted her train of thought. Elladan was closest to the door—he pulled it open revealing Aragarwen, who was now carrying a basket.

The elves exchanged words and Aragarwen smiled before settling in one of the chairs by the hearth. She opened the basket and pulled out a bundle of cloth and a spool of thread. Arranging her work, she smiled at Avalon.

"I wait with Meredith," she said gently.

"Huh?" Avalon looked between the elves. Elrohir extended an arm to escort her.

"Come with us," he said. Avalon nodded, standing to take his arm. She turned to Aragarwen.

"Thank you, Aragarwen."

"You're welcome, Avalon" she replied confidently, arranging her sewing in her lap. Avalon followed the elves out from her room. They started down the hall towards the kitchens, but took a branch that Avalon had never been down before.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I do not know the word," Elrohir replied. "A room for paper and quill," he added. Avalon thought for a moment.

"A library?" she asked.

"I do not know," Elrohir said with a light chuckle. "This," he added, stopping in front of a door. Elladan opened the door for them, and couldn't help a grin as he saw Avalon's face light up.

"A library!" she cried, breaking away from Elrohir and rushing inside to spin around, taking in the stacks of books, scrolls, and parchment. A table nearby was laid out with blank parchment, quills, and ink, next to a freestanding chalkboard. There were a few scrolls and books piled in the center of the table.

"For you," Elladan said, gesturing to the texts. Avalon looked up at him in surprise.

"What are they?" she asked, even as she reached for the largest of the books. She began to leaf through it gently, taking in the beautifully illuminated designs on the pages. She grinned widely. "It's a picture dictionary!" she cried happily, taking note of the format. Elrohir held out a hand for the book, and Avalon slid it across the table, unable to lift it easily. He flipped to a page.

"Battle means this?" he asked, pointing to the illustration. Indeed, it showed two armies, elves and—it looked to Avalon like—orcs, bearing weapons against each other.

"Yes, exactly!" Avalon said, nodding. Elladan took the book and flipped to another page.

"Asleep means this?" he asked, indicating another image of a pair of children curled up with their mother, all fast asleep.

"Yes, yes," Avalon said, feeling like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. This would take some of the guesswork from their communication, and maybe—just maybe—help figure out a way to get her and Meredith home at last.


End file.
